Today’s Scripture

Psalm 133            Acts1:15-26   1 John 4:13-21            John 17:11b-19

 

            In today’s reading from Acts, we see the second action by the disciples and other followers of Jesus immediately after the ascension.  The first action was returning to Jerusalem and actively praying together.  The second was restoring the unity of twelve disciples in the process of selecting Mathias to replace Judas.  Reaching back to the Psalms, Peter quotes two passages in regards this.  First is the matter of being one selected.  The second is the active role that person will play.

 

            Watching a recent interview with Donald Trump’s son and daughter brought out those two points, being selected and acting out in that role.  Neither of them had a choice about the family and circumstances they were born into.  With the Trump fortunes, they could be set for life.  But as they grew they were taught and groomed to be active parts of the family business.  They were certainly given responsibilities.  In that they were also given the training and the tools to assume those responsibilities as they were intended.  Part of their being is passive, being born into the family.  Part of their being is active as they carry out the duties given them in the family business.

 

            In Acts we see the disciples and quite a number of followers of Jesus waiting for the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised and as he had instructed them to wait.  By inspiration from the Psalms [69 & 109) they knew they were to fill the position vacated by Judas.  To be included in this group of twelve there were certain prerequisites, foremost being one who had received as much instruction as possible as the chosen twelve.  He had to have been with Jesus throughout all of this teaching and preaching ministry from the time of his baptism by John in the Jordan River.  Three years earlier Matthias and Barsabbas had joined Jesus’ followers and were with him in that outer ring of disciples.  The disciples prayed.  They trusted the correct man be chosen by lot, a selection process out of their reason.  There was great trust that God would bring the right person into the group.

 

            Following the Pentecost, we do not hear of Matthias or several of the other disciples again.  We do see the fruits, the results of their work as they presented the good news of Jesus, of sins forgiven and the kingdom given through him.  Many people in many parts of the world came to faith through the faithful actions of these and other disciples.

 

            What does this mean for us today?  One is the guidance this has given the church throughout the centuries for preparing and selecting pastors.  As we confess in the Augsburg Confession (Article XIV), our pastors are not self-appointed or recognized only because they are good persons and know Scripture well.  There is a  prescribed and deliberately followed training and ordaining process.  Although the process for ordination and calling pastors is man-made, it follows the Scriptural principles established in God’s word and followed by these disciples.  We follow a similar process for preparing and selecting other servants who assist in the ministries of our congregations.  These positions include teachers, deaconesses and lay ministers, directors of Christian Education and Outreach for example. 

 

            What does this mean for you in the pew, for all of our members at Immanuel Lutheran Church?  You too have been chosen by God to be his dear children.  All Christians share this in the gifts given in baptism.  It is a thing of God’s action and your receiving.  Through faith in and through baptism, you are made active by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Faith is no longer a passive thing alone.  You are now active living out your faith in what you think, say and do. 

 

            We as a congregation and our entire church body are passive as we receive God’s gifts.  He gives us his word.  He gives us the washing of sins and renewal in baptism.  He gives us Jesus’ body and blood that was sacrificed for all for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.  In turn, the church is active proclaiming God’s word to believers and unbelievers alike.  The church is active in administering the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper in the ways God has given them to us to use.  The church is the holder of the office of the keys, the pronouncement of forgiveness of sins to those who confess their sins and trust in the forgiveness won by Christ.

 

            John writes to us in his letter about this.  If anyone acknowledges Jesus as Savior of the world, God lives in him and that person lives in God.  Life as a child of God is both passive and active.  You receive God’s gifts to you and respond as you live your life acting in God’s ways. 

 

            Living in God is to live outside of fear.  Daily we fear for our safety, our jobs, our health, the wellbeing of loved ones.  Daily we live in fear in the valley of the shadow of death due to our sins.  Knowing God’s love we are brought out of fear, the fear of the unknown brought on by earthly death.  We know and trust God’s saving grace and promise of a glorious life in eternity with him. 

 

            We love because he first loved us.  We forgive as he forgives us.  As he gives us great joy, we share that great joy by telling others of that love.  We are sanctified, made holy again by God’s truth given in his word.  We have the joy of sharing that word with others and seeing them changed by that word of truth too.

 

            Unity; we are one in faith.  Unity; we are one in baptism.  Unity; we are one in Jesus Christ who makes us one with the father and with each other as his body, the church.  Unity; it is something we receive.  Unity; it is something we actively live.  Unity, by the grace of God alone.

 

In Jesus’ undying love that holds us together in that unity, now and forever.            Amen.